Olympiacos break PAOK resistance
GREEK FOOTBALL CUP - SEMI-FINALS (LEG 2)
PAOK’s grip on the Greek Cup is over, as Olympiacos earned a 2-0 victory in the second leg at the Karaiskakis Stadium to secure a 4-3 aggregate win and progression to the final.
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The Dikefalos tou Vorra won’t be winning the Greek Cup this year. In the past three consecutive seasons, PAOK managed to hoist the trophy aloft with a trio of wins against AEK, but Olympiacos put paid to any hopes of a fourth successive triumph with a confident 2-0 victory in the return leg of their semi-final tie at home. PAOK had travelled to Piraeus protecting a 3-2 advantage from the first match in Thessaloniki.
Giorgos Masouras and Mohamed Camara grabbed the two goals for Olympiacos in the second half as the Thrylos eventually found a way past Alexandros Paschalakis.
This is the first time since 2016 when Olympiacos have qualified for the final of the tournament. Olympiacos will face AEK in the showpiece game after the Kitrinomavri defeated Aris in dramatic circumstances in the other semi-final.
THE MATCH
Not too many clear opportunities were witnessed during the first stanza. Taking aim from a promising position, Dimitris Limnios missed a chance for PAOK midway through the half, before Masouras contrived to shoot wide when practically clean through for the Erythrolefki.
Olympiacos immediately increased their intensity in the second half. Applying plenty of pressure on PAOK, the hosts began to carve out more openings, with Masouras firing an attempt into Paschalakis and Youssef El Arabi’s header producing a superb save from the opposing goalkeeper.
At the other end, PAOK came close to a goal against the run of play, as Mauricio curled a free kick inches over Jose Sa’s crossbar.
Masouras handed Olympiacos their craved lead with 65 minutes on the clock.
Connecting with a clever cross from the right wing, Masouras headed the ball beyond Paschalakis, with the PAOK goalkeeper just unable to get a hand on it.
Huffing and puffing, PAOK didn’t cause Olympiacos a lot of problems in defence, but they did have one glorious chance to score a potentially decisive away goal.
When getting his head on Miroslav Stoch’s free kick, Fernando Varela looked sure to score, but Sa denied him with a wonderful reaction save.
A save which proved crucial.
Moments later, Camara had too much strength for the PAOK back line, pulling to a shooting position and sliding the ball under Paschalakis.
Karol Swiderski came close to getting PAOK back in the tie when shooting against Sa at point blank range. Nevertheless, Olympiacos calmly kept the reigning champions at bay, and the tie well and truly ended as a contest when Omar El Kaddouri received his second yellow card in stoppage time.
THE TEAMS
Olympiacos: Sa, Tsimikas, Ba, Semedo, Elabdellaoui, Camara, Bouchalakis (Fortounis 42’), Guilherme, Lovera (Randjelovic 46’), Masouras (Cafu 80’), El Arabi (Hassan 89’).
PAOK: Paschalakis, Giannoulis, Varela, Ingason, Matos (Stoch 74’), Esiti (Biseswar 74’), Mauricio, El Kaddouri, Tzolis (Rodrigo 63’), Limnios (Lamprou 63’), Akpom (Swiderski 63’).
